


Lingering

by Elisexyz



Series: Porcelain [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Belle & Emma centric, Bonding, Dark One Emma Swan, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-10-28 06:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20774150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: When she eventually finds her way to the kitchen, without wandering much, she finds it already occupied: Emma is sitting alone, nursing a cup of what appears to be tea. It is such a mundane image, so clashing with the powerful – evil – sorceress that Belle has grown used to picturing her as, that she finds herself staring, frozen by the door and not a word coming out of her mouth.Emma doesn’t address her immediately, her eyes still fixated straight ahead, perhaps, Belle realizes a moment too late, in a silent invitation to make herself scarce without comment.Nevertheless, she eventually turns around, fixating her with a cold stare. Belle feels a shiver running up her spine, her instinct saying to run.





	Lingering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedTailedHawkens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTailedHawkens/gifts).

> You asked for it, and that is probably what gave me motivation to finish it, so here it is! I hope you'll like it <3  
  
This takes place between chapter 9 and 10 of my Swanfire Beauty And The Beast AU (previous instalment of this series), and I'm afraid it won't make much sense on its own.  
I would have liked to add something more between Emma and Belle in the longfic, but then I didn't, so you get a bonus scene LOL. It was supposed to be Emma's POV at first, but then I switched. Enjoy!

Moved by a pressing urge to stretch her legs a little and ease the knot in her stomach by taking a walk around, Belle elects to leave the bedroom for a few minutes, parting from a Rumple with a kiss on his temple, a reassuring squeeze at his shoulder and an offer to bring him a glass of water from the kitchen.

She spares a look for Baelfire, who is asleep, his features relaxed and good colour on his cheeks, enough not to make him look dead at least, and if a part of her, perhaps out of maternal instinct, wants to stay right _there_ to make sure that things don’t spin out of control yet again, another really needs a minute away, in an attempt at escaping the feeling that squeezes her chest tight whenever she remembers what almost happened here.

These past few months have been an utter disaster, between failed attempts at finding the castle again – Belle suspects, given how easily she found the way back with Baelfire, that magic might have been involved – and Rumple deteriorating before her eyes, and she doesn’t dare thinking what would have happened if they had lost Baelfire forever, not to mention under such circumstances.

She takes a deep breath, which doesn’t completely succeed in steadying her, looking around and feeling a shiver of excitement and curiosity at the sight of the big, ancient castle hiding who _knows_ what— it also feels achingly familiar, reminiscent of her life before her birthland was destroyed and she had to flee, losing one family to gain another.

For all that she loves her life, for all that she wouldn’t trade Rumple and Baelfire for the world, she can’t help feeling a rush of joy as she walks down the stairs of a place so similar to the landscape that she grew up in.

Of course, remembering how much went wrong behind these walls sobers her up a little, although it doesn’t really do much to subdue her curiosity.

When she eventually finds her way to the kitchen, without wandering much, she finds it already occupied: Emma is sitting alone, nursing a cup of what appears to be tea. It is such a mundane image, so clashing with the powerful – evil – sorceress that Belle has grown used to picturing her as, that she finds herself staring, frozen by the door and not a word coming out of her mouth.

Emma doesn’t address her immediately, her eyes still fixated straight ahead, perhaps, Belle realizes a moment too late, in a silent invitation to make herself scarce without comment.

Nevertheless, she eventually turns around, fixating her with a cold stare. Belle feels a shiver running up her spine, her instinct saying to run.

“Do you need something?” Emma asks, her tone clearly annoyed at the interruption.

“No,” she answers, quickly. “I was only stretching my legs.”

Emma doesn’t seem too interested, and she quickly diverts her attention back to her cup, taking another slow sip.

Belle realizes that she hasn’t really seen her around much: she made a quick appearance to check up on Baelfire, she assured them that everything was fine, and then she was gone before either of them could so much as wonder if they should invite her to stay. Emma, unlike the two of them, has been swallowing her worry all on her own and, well— It is by now evident that she cares about Baelfire just as much as her or Rumple, and although Belle is still awfully wary, all too aware that Emma could destroy her with the imposition of a finger, she figures that she wouldn’t harm her, if only for Baelfire’s sake.

And, after all, everyone deserves some good company in dire times.

“What are you having?” Belle asks, her tone as confident and friendly as she can make it.

Emma appears to be taken by surprise, if the little twitch of her body is anything to go by, and it takes a few moments of her blinking at Belle with a blank face before she finally gets out an answer.

“Tea.”

She is not an overly talkative person, it seems. That’s alright, Belle can talk enough for two with ease.

“It calms the nerves,” Belle comments, offering a slight smile and daring to take a few steps forward, paying close attention to Emma’s reaction.

She doesn’t really do or say much to indicate how she feels about her approaching, only raising her eyebrows slightly, who knows if out of surprise or scepticism or mere annoyance.

“So I’m told,” Emma says, drily.

For a moment, Belle contemplates sitting down at the table too, but she has had quite enough of chairs for the time being, so instead she chooses to awkwardly stand, her fingers playing with the back of the nearest chair.

“Is it working?” Belle prompts, although she can probably guess the answer.

“Not as well as I would have hoped, no,” Emma confesses, quietly, frowning at the cup as if it had personally wronged her.

Belle takes a breath, her mind unhelpfully transporting her back to their desperate race to attempt and find a way not to lose Baelfire.

“He will be fine, you know,” she says, gently, blinking away the memories.

Emma gives her a rather patronizing look. “Of course I know. The curse is broken, he is in no more danger now than he was yesterday,” she lays out, like the obvious truth it is.

Belle snorts. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t worry and we don’t need to be reminded of that,” she points out, shrugging. “He did almost die.”

Emma’s hands twitch around the cup, and her posture goes stiffer. “I’m well aware,” she only says, drily.

Belle licks her lips. “I don’t believe I have thanked you yet,” she gets out, mustering up a friendly smile. “For saving him, I mean.”

Emma raises her eyebrows at her. “I didn’t do it for you.”

Belle dares laughing a little at that, out of genuine amusement. “That much is obvious.” She isn’t sure if the look on Emma’s face means that she is confused or insulted by her reaction. Good god, she will need so much practice to learn how to read her. She can only hope that Baelfire will have some pointers. “Well, thank you regardless,” Belle repeats, not letting her smile falter. “Do you—would you like some company, perhaps? I can stay for a while, if you don’t wish to be alone.”

At that, the reaction is clearly surprise. For about two seconds, at least, then Emma turns away and she appears to literally close off. “I’m fine,” she says, curtly. “Go back upstairs.”

Belle elects to accept the dismissal, this time, nodding in response. “Alright, then. I’ll see you later, I suppose.”

Emma only gives her a wary look as Belle moves to fill a glass with water, to take to Rumple. She is already at the door when Emma’s voice stops her.

“There’s a library,” she says, her tone a little kinder than before. “Upstairs. Feel free to use it.”

Belle turns to give her a baffled look, and she finds that Emma is very intently staring at the wall, trying to appear bored. Belle smiles a little at the gesture nonetheless. “Thank you. Maybe I will.”

Perhaps, she muses as she goes back upstairs, she just caught a glimpse of what Baelfire sees in her.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates comments, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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